The release of Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl after nearly five years in Taliban captivity prompted cheers among U.S. officials May 31, but amid the applause some on Capitol Hill are questioning the risks and legality of how his freedom was brokered.

Five years a captive from the Afghanistan war, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl is back in American hands, freed for five Guantanamo terrorism detainees in a swap stirring sharp debate in Washington over whether the U.S. should have negotiated with the Taliban over prisoners.

Business:

Even though U.S. President Barack Obama announced last week that the Defense Department would leave only 9,800 American troops in Afghanistan in 2015, experts expect the Pentagon to ask Congress to approve $50 billion to $70 billion for war-related efforts.

Defense industry analysts have been perplexed in recent months by higher than expected outlays in the “modernization” portion of the military budget that funds research, development and procurement of weapon systems.

Raymond Lopez Jr. spent three decades in the Navy, starting out as a seaman apprentice and retiring with the rank of commander. When Lopez and his wife Carol started Engineering Services Network, a defense services company, in 1997, they built their business on Navy contracts, growing from a small start-up into a $38 million-a-year enterprise. Lopez felt like he had never really retired from the Navy.

Ronald Reagan’s dream of lasers that can shoot down incoming missiles is about to become reality – to an extent. The Navy will deploy a low-power prototype to the Persian Gulf this summer and it sees real potential to zap drones, small boats, and anti-ship cruise missiles. But experts assembled at this week’s Atlantic Council conference on missile defense agreed that directed energy weapons are decades from making a dent in much faster and tougher ballistic missiles, which China, North Korea, and Iran all have a-plenty.

Israel’s Defense Ministry has suspended planned procurement contracts, slowed work on major research and development projects and warned of a wave of industry layoffs to come from programs it will be forced to ax due to budget shortfalls.

Israel Aerospace Industries announced that it had made record sales of US $979 million in the first quarter led by the military market as profits decreased due to the impact of weaker U.S. dollar exchange rates.

Defense:

The U.S. defense sector is having a remarkable year on Capitol Hill. In fact, it is batting 1.000 so far, with three of four congressional defense panels protecting weapon programs and adding funds to buy platforms the military didn’t even request.

Local military discounts

News: Israel lobbies for more missile defense funds than Obama sought - For the second consecutive year, Israeli officials have asked the U.S. Congress to add more than $300 million to President Barack Obama’s budget request for their nation’s missile-defense programs. Business: Inside one of the most intense, and unusual, Pentagon contracting wars - The much-anticipated...

Italy resumes Navy exercise amid new tensions over Libya The Italian Navy is resuming exercises in the Mediterranean Sea, including near the coast of Libya, amid concerns about rapidly deteriorating security in the North African nation. The exercise began March 2 and includes anti-submarine, anti-aircraft and anti-ship training operations. The exercise was suspended for a...

Two Boeing 702SP (small platform) satellites, the first all-electric propulsion satellites to launch, have sent initial signals from space, marking the first step toward ABS, based in Bermuda, and Eutelsat, based in Paris, being able to provide enhanced communication services to their customers. Whatís more, the satellites were launched as a conjoined stack on a...

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and SENER, a leading Spanish engineering company, announced March 2 that they have signed a teaming agreement that promotes the use of the multi-mission Predator B® RPA to support Spain’s airborne surveillance and reconnaissance requirements. GAASI is a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft systems, radars, and electro-optic and relate...

Raytheon has delivered a second Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite instrument to support the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Joint Polar Satellite System mission. The second VIIRS unit will fly ab...

Information

Publisher

Aerotech News and Review is published every Friday serving the aerospace and defense industry of Southern California, Nevada and Arizona. News and ad copy deadline is noon on the Tuesday prior to publication. The publisher assumes no responsibility for error in ads other than space used.

Disclaimer

The appearance of advertising in this publication, including inserts or supplements, does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense, U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, or Aerotech News and Review, Inc., of the products or services advertised.